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 Mathias Ringstrom |
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 Tony Hawk |
SD Sk8: Skatetown USA
More Pro Skateboarders Per Capita Than Anywhere Else on Earth
by Todd Seligman
Skateboarding and Navy jet pilots have a few things in common. Each spends a lot of time in the air. They both require a specific personality that is a strange combination of confidence, respect, bravado and craziness and, just like Top Gun, the best of the best come to San Diego.
No other place on earth has a higher professional skateboarder population. And when I say pros, I mean “The Pros”, the top dogs, the bad-ass guys who make up the elite of professional skateboarding. They all live in the San Diego area. Maybe it’s in the water?
Whether you’re talking about Danny Way, Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, Mathias Ringstrom, Ryan Sheckler... the list goes on and on but, they all reside around San Diego, or more specifically Carlsbad.
San Diego is a natural place for the jet set of skateboarding to call home. The weather is always nice and there is a veritable plethora of top notch skateparks. Add to the list a host of world class surf spots like Swami’s and Birdrock and you’ve got everything a pro skater could ever desire.
Some guys like Tony Hawk grew up in San Diego skating it’s legendary skateparks like Del Mar in the eighties, but for other skaters the journey here could best be described as a pilgrimage. Bucky Lasek came from Baltimore, MD, Mathias Ringstrom from Stockholm, Sweden and Bob Burnquist began his skateboard career in an entirely different hemisphere - all the way down in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
According to Mathias Ringstrom “There’s no better place to be a vert skater. Everyone always asks what ramp I like best but they should not be asking where but with whom because best thing is skating with everyone. There’s always a great session going down.”
With so much skater-rich soil, many skateboarding companies have sprouted in San Diego as well like Birdhouse and DC Shoes. The annual Action Sports Retailer (ASR) Trade Show takes over the San Diego Convention Center every year, thereby attracting even more skaters to the area. With all these skateboarders came the need for more skateparks some of which have attained legendary status like the Encinitas YMCA and Mission Valley YMCA Skateparks. There are also several private ramp complexes including the DC warehouse, Tony Hawk’s House and Bob Burnquist’s personal Ramp Farm. This geometric expansion of skateboarding makes San Diego Skatetown USA.
It is only fitting that the Action Sports USA Championships will be held in the capital of skateboarding, San Diego at the ipay One Arena on September 23-24.
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